The rooster of Qīngshān had not yet crowed, but Zhì Yuǎn had already been awake for hours.
He sat on the bed, back leaning against the bamboo wall, breathing slowly. His chest rose and fell with effort. During the night, he had tried to draw in the cold night air to calm the heat still burning inside his chest, but it had not worked. The mountain air was too thin. The fire he had absorbed from the sun continued throbbing beneath his skin, keeping his body hot and feverish.
Beside him, Yù Qíng slept deeply, naked, her face turned toward him.
Zhì Yuǎn rose carefully so as not to wake her. He put on only a pair of linen pants and walked barefoot to the back veranda. There was a large clay basin filled with water from the stream. He plunged his hands into the icy water and splashed it over his face and the back of his neck.
The hiss was low. The water evaporated far too quickly on his hot skin. Within seconds, the moisture was gone.
He rested his hands on the edge of the basin, breathing heavily. The internal heat was too strong. The water and night air were not managing to cool him.
The bamboo floor creaked behind him. Yù Qíng appeared wearing only her thin nightdress. She stopped at his back and placed her cold hands on his warm back, then pressed her cheek between his shoulder blades.
"The bed got cold," she murmured, voice hoarse with sleep.
"The night does not have enough water in the air," Zhì Yuǎn answered, his voice slightly rough. "If I keep absorbing heat from the sun, I will end up burning from the inside."
Yù Qíng wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.
"The sun has not even risen properly yet. Lie down again."
"I need to go down. Your father wants me to fix the cart rail boards early today."
She let out an irritated sigh but did not argue. After a few seconds, she released his waist and took a step back.
"I'm not going down today," she said. "I'll stay here washing clothes and sweeping the yard. I'll leave lunch ready for when you come back."
Zhì Yuǎn nodded. He turned his face and looked at her for a second before going back inside to get dressed.
---
The morning was heavy.
The work at the mine and the repairs on the cart wheels demanded more effort than usual. It was not only the weight of the wood. It was the heat he had to constantly contain. With every movement, the channels in his chest burned, and he had to hold his breath so the heat would not overflow and draw attention from the others.
Only when afternoon began to fall did he manage to relax a little.
Zhì Yuǎn returned to the cabin carrying a hare he had killed on the way. His tunic was soaked with sweat and clinging to his body. The skin of his neck and arms was flushed red. He walked slower than usual.
Yù Qíng was hanging clothes on the line when she saw him arriving. The tunic she was holding slipped from her hand and fell to the ground. She crossed the space between them in quick steps.
Zhì Yuǎn raised the hare as if to hand it to her, but Yù Qíng did not even look. She threw the animal carelessly onto the veranda bench and placed her hands on his chest.
The moment she touched his hot skin through the opening of his tunic, her eyes widened.
"You're worse than this morning," she said, voice tense. Her fingers tightened on his tunic. "The water didn't help. The shade didn't help. Tell me what to do. I can go down and get something from Grandmother—"
Zhì Yuǎn held her hand against his chest.
"Your grandmother has nothing that will fix this," he answered directly. "I tried pulling in the night air again. It doesn't have enough weight. It's useless."
He paused, looking at her worried face.
"But last night… every time you came, a cold freshness came out from inside you. It had weight. It was different from the night air. The stronger the orgasm, the stronger it came out."
Yù Qíng went quiet. Her breathing changed. Her dark eyes fixed on his, and a slow smile with a touch of something wild appeared on her lips.
"You want to use that," she murmured. "The cold that comes out of me when I come."
Zhì Yuǎn tightened his grip on her waist with his free hand. His voice dropped, low and provocative:
"When you come, your body releases it. And it eases the heat inside here. I want to see how far I can take you to draw out more."
Yù Qíng bit her lower lip, her gaze growing darker.
"Then lock the door," she whispered. "Let's test it."
---
The afternoon was still burning when they entered the cabin.
Yù Qíng locked the door and her dress fell. She lay on the bed and opened her legs, looking at him with shining dark eyes.
Zhì Yuǎn climbed on top of her. His large body completely covered hers. When he positioned himself between her thighs and pressed the thick head against her wet entrance, Yù Qíng was already breathing faster.
He did not go slow.
He pushed all the way in at once, deep. Yù Qíng arched her back and let out a hoarse moan, nails digging into his back. His thick cock stretched her to the limit.
"Nghh…!" The sound came out muffled as she bit her lower lip hard.
Zhì Yuǎn let out a low grunt against her neck and began moving his hips. Long, heavy, constant thrusts. Every time he went deep, his wide hips slapped against her with a wet sound. The mattress creaked loudly.
Yù Qíng moaned without being able to control herself. Her small body rocked every time he thrust. Her legs could barely close properly around his wide waist.
"More… deeper…" she whimpered, voice faltering.
Zhì Yuǎn gripped her hips harder and began thrusting even heavier. Sweat ran down his back and dripped onto Yù Qíng's stomach. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh echoed in the room along with her hoarse moans.
Yù Qíng came for the first time, trembling entirely, legs squeezing whatever they could of his waist, a loud moan escaping her throat. The moment she came, Zhì Yuǎn felt a wave of icy freshness rise through where they were connected. The relief was immediate. The heat inside his chest diminished slightly.
He did not stop.
He continued thrusting while she was still trembling from the orgasm, forcing deeper. The freshness that came out of her every time his cock moved in and out calmed him. He began to grow addicted to the sensation. The more she came, the more relief he felt.
Yù Qíng was already breathless, her body soft, but he continued. He changed the angle from time to time, sometimes slower, sometimes rougher. She whimpered quietly, nails scratching his back, legs trembling uncontrollably.
"You're going to kill me like this… so deep… ahh…" she murmured hoarsely, almost delirious.
Zhì Yuǎn leaned his face close to her ear, voice low and grave:
"One more time. Come for me one more time."
He continued. The thrusts became deeper and slower, but still heavy. Yù Qíng came again some time later, her entire body locking up, a long, broken moan leaving her. Another wave of icy freshness rose into him. The relief was greater.
After that she was already almost without strength, panting against his shoulder, body soft and trembling. Even so, Zhì Yuǎn did not stop. The freshness that came out every time she came was calming the fire inside him, and he wanted more.
He kept fucking her for longer, drawing out every orgasm he could, until Yù Qíng finally collapsed for real — body completely soft, eyes rolling back, a final weak moan escaping before she passed out.
Only then did Zhì Yuǎn stop.
He was breathless. The heat that had tormented him the entire day had been controlled. He slowly pulled out of her and lay on his side, pulling her cold, limp body onto his chest. He passed his hand across her back and felt how cold she was.
He had gotten what he needed.
But her body could not handle doing this every night.
He passed his hand over her cold stomach.
If he wanted to continue using her freshness to balance himself, he needed to make her body able to endure it. He could no longer only take. He also had to give.
Next time, he would not only draw from her. He would also force his own heat into her. He would open her channels by force, the same way he had opened his own. So that both of them could bear each other's weight.
He pulled Yù Qíng's soft, cold body onto his chest and closed his eyes.